I trust you

Holy Father,

I trust you deeply. Completely. Thoroughly. I live in peace because of your presence. I ask for daily bread. The now is where I live, not tomorrow. By doing so I can have true hope in eternity. Thank you for your promise, so solid and firm and true.

That momentary thoughts make me restless I confess. Each time, bring me back to the center, which is Christ. He had no pillow to lay his head on. He had no home to call his own. In this world the Lord owned little. He came to do your will and return to heaven. In him is full comfort and constant joy.

God of all, you are my God. Praise belongs to you for your mercy. Glory to you for your patience. Honor is yours because you are faithful every day.

Without you I cannot live. Stay with me.

In Christ, Amen.

Dead All at Once

Dead all at once, and slowly dying —
Life in Christ means distancing
ourselves from worldly pursuits.
O eternal God in Heaven!
What affliction we feel, like Lot,
to see in our own divided hearts
the wicked ways of man.
Purify us for your presence!

Your Desire

To give and forgive is your desire,
This grace in Christ, no need more dire;
Good News must reach the farthest isle —
Your church must face the harshest trial.

O Lord! more faith and courage send,
More love to carry us to the end!
Let us enter the opened door,
To speak salvation more and more.

A Brother in Need

Show me, Lord, a brother in need.
Open my shuttered eyes to see
Whom I can help, to love in deed
And truth — but not in small degree.

Like you among your people in prayer,
May I be present to know and hear
That hurting heart who cannot bear
The lonesome pain — may I be near.

From solitude, where power I seek,
Lead me to where my brethren meet,
To ease their burdens, lift the weak,
Instruct the novice, and wash their feet.

That Confident Man

That confident Man who moved in Israel,
Aware of Heaven’s power at work in Him,
Confronted evil and gave Himself to die
At the hands of sinful men upon the Cross.

In that shadow I die, and in His light
I live to follow His lead — Humbly I step,
With knowledge that daily He saves my soul.
More, O God, make me to be like Him.


The idea for this prayer came from this quote.

The good things of this world

Father, the good things of this world all come from you.
Nothing that is good has any other source.
And all that is bad and evil is not your doing.
Remove harmful and wrong thoughts and motives from our hearts.
Fill our minds with spiritual purpose.
Strengthen our hands for good works.
Fill us with your Spirit of power.
Make Jesus our reason for life.
Grow in us the seed of gratitude.
May the good of this world make us yearn for that of eternity.
Establish our hearts in your grace.
We pray because the Lord is our intercessor. Amen.

Who Did Not Know the Lord

Influencing children for Christ in this morally decadent culture is much like it was in the time of Judges, but the church can’t make the same mistakes God’s people did then (Judges 2:10-12).

I. Deuteronomy 6:6-9.  The generation that had come out of Egypt was dead, and the generation that entered the Promised Land, the oldest 59 (Numbers 14:29-32), with Joshua failed to teach their kids about God or what He had done for them though they had been told to do so.  Their excuses were probably much like ours–too busy, not enough time, etc.  If we don’t teach them, they will abandon God.

II. Proverbs 22:6.  Demas did that (2 Timothy 4:10) and loved the world instead.  We must make the gospel relevant for a new generation (Matthew 9:17).  We do this by becoming aware of the challenges kids face today and meeting them how Lois and Eunice did (1 Timothy 1:5).  With proper preparation to live for God in a fast-paced and antagonistic culture, we can help our children break the cycle of sin.

III. Matthew 15:1-3.  Far too often we hand children the gospel packaged in our traditions that worked for previous generations but are inadequate to meet the challenges of today’s world that they must survive and serve in.  When we don’t give good gifts to our kids (Matthew 7:9-11) in the form of relevant teaching and preparation, we risk them going after other things and provoking God (Hebrews 10:26-27).

I saw this recently, “The gospel sounds strange to a generation that has been told they are perfect, loving themselves is virtuous, their heart is always right, and nothing is more important than being happy.”  How must we adapt our teaching of the gospel to a new generation that thinks differently than we do because it comes from a secular mindset rather than the sacred starting point that we have known?

 

Kingdoms cause turmoil

My Lord and my God,

The kingdoms of this world cause turmoil.
Man destroys everything he touches.
Corruption produces more corruption.
The poor suffer, the commoners die.

Our hope wavers not.
Our faith still shines brightly.
The power of Christ works mightily.
Save us, Lord, we plead.

We thank you for our peace of heart.
We praise you, Lord Almighty.
Your love is undiminished.
Come for your people, Lord Jesus!

We pray in the Lord. Amen!

Why Do the Nations Rage?

The answer to the question: because it works!  The world is large and scary, and although we see ourselves as Christians as great warriors for the faith standing our ground, it is doing a great job of containing the gospel and our works of service to the walls of our church buildings.  In the 21st century we fear the world more than we fear God (Psalm 2:1-12).

I. John 11:47-50.  “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” the psalmist asks.  After all, don’t they know that it’s useless to fight against the God that created the universe and sustains us? It didn’t stop those in power from scheming to put Jesus to death and thus falling into God’s plan to bring about redemption for mankind. God’s wrath for them is expected (Romans 1:18-23).  In the 1st century, Christians did not shrink back from the world’s attacks but were emboldened because they feared God (Acts 4:24-26).

II. Hebrews 1:2-8. It’s vain because God has set His Son on His holy hill in Zion, who will destroy His enemies with a rod of iron (Hebrews 10:26-31).  The best that the world could muster to oppose the gospel in the 1st century fell woefully short (Acts 4:27-28) because God had planned beforehand how to bring about such a salvation (Acts 2:23-24).  Since none can oppose His will, we should fear God and not the world.

III. Matthew 10:26-28.  It is with fear and trembling that mankind should approach God.  The world can only kill the body, not put body and soul in hell.  Therefore, it is God we should fear.  We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) and take refuge in God, not the false friendship of the world.  When the world sought to intimidate early Christians, they prayed for boldness and it was given to them (Acts 4:29-31).  We too must be of those who do not shrink back and are destroyed but of those who through faith preserve their souls (Hebrews 10:35-39).

Is the church (and not God) a refuge for you to escape the world or a gathering of warriors regrouping to battle the world?

Let Us Do Good

The fire on a lit match casts no shadow.  If Christians are light, then why do we often rely exclusively on worldly means–signs, advertising, an attractive facility–to compete with the darkness to get noticed?  Jesus and the 1st century disciples didn’t have billboards or business cards.  And, while some of this is useful (Luke 16:8) for us, the greatest periods of growth in the Lord’s church came about by preaching truth and doing good (Galatians 6:7-10).

I. Acts 10:36-38.  Jesus reaped what He sowed.  While on this earth, He viewed every interaction as an opportunity to advance the gospel, so much so that He was known for going around and doing good.  Even when He spoke, He wasted no effort to show the world that God was among them (John 7:40-46).  So, our every word and deed ought to show the world Jesus (Colossians 3:17) to increase His kingdom.

II. Matthew 25:37-40.  Preaching truth and doing good is light in a world of darkness, and so different than any of the worldly efforts we could employ to get noticed.  And, because it is hard, we may grow weary.  Jesus promises to be with us (Matthew 28:18-20), so we are never alone.  If we persevere as a church and in our personal ministries to shine our light on a stand for all to see, we will be rewarded.

III. Ephesians 4:15-16.  So, we must view every interaction we have out in the world and with each other as an opportunity to show Jesus by preaching truth and doing good.  Rather than seeing the church as a refuge–God is instead (2 Samuel 22:2-3)–to escape the world, we must see it as a base to regroup (Acts 13:1-3) so we can serve.  Only by shining light can we compete with the darkness to overcome it and grow.

We must pray that God will give us opportunities to preach truth and do good and that we will see them.  Then we can serve as a church and develop personal ministries in every interaction and situation.